Ben Cottrell

Ben Cottrell, a British Postwar & Contemporary artist, showcases his creative prowess across various mediums including installations, sculptures, paintings, photography, and drawings.  

Biography of Ben Cottrell

Born in 1972 in Cornwall, England, Ben Cottrell currently resides and works in Berlin. He pursued his artistic education at the Cheltenham School of Art and Design, and his creative journey has taken him to various prestigious institutions as an artist in residence, including the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna and the Meet Factory in Prague. Additionally, he served as the co-director of Forever and a Day Büro, an exhibition space based in Berlin.

Cottrell's artistic endeavors have been exhibited in renowned venues worldwide, spanning from the Bonner Kunstverein in Bonn to Galería Ehrhardt Flórez in Madrid, and from Cell Project Space in London to Envoy Enterprises in New York.

 The Art of Ben Cottrell

In his art, Ben Cottrell crafts intricate layers of fiction and mythology that delve into both physical and psychological realms. His work is a journey through existing cultural contexts, simultaneously exploring and challenging them.

An example of his collaborative endeavors is showcased in the exhibition "B & B" at Knust Kunz, where Ben Cottrell partnered with Ben Kaufmann. Their collaboration dates back to 2006 when they began working together in Munich.

In one series shot in a depot, Cottrell reinterprets Allen Jones' provocative sculpture "Garderobe, Tisch, Stuhl" (1969), isolating it from its usual exhibition setting. Cottrell's approach involves mystical portrayals, particularly of the female form sourced from cinematic and magazine imagery, which serve as the foundation for his drawings and paintings. His latest body of work focuses on abstracting these figures, prompting reflections on pop-cultural norms of replication and accessibility.

In another exhibition titled "Snake on Charm's Way" at Ten Haaf Projects, Cottrell employs diverse mediums such as oil painting, ink drawing, sculpture, assemblage, and installation. Through these varied approaches, he explores the dynamic interplay between nature and culture, chaos and order, beauty and horror. Drawing inspiration from art history, mythology, and popular culture, Cottrell constructs a surreal universe populated by goddesses, swirling clouds, intense gazes, deep wells, and vivid skies — a landscape that oscillates between humor and disturbance, infused with the Dionysian spirit.